Raising Trouble
by redoenguin
Summary: Mal and the crew pick up a stowaway, a desperate street boy. The boy fits right in, but has a difficult past to get through. The crew of Serenity has a lot on their hands with this one. (Pre-Serenity)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He watched as a Firefly transport ship docked. His stomach growled empty of last week's food. The boy reeked of garbage and rotten food. He surveyed his current situation and suddenly the Firefly looked like a really nice place to stay. He got up and made his way towards the ship.

The crew of Serenity wandered off taking in the sites while two of the crew members tried luring passengers onboard. Everything was going quite smooth today. Even Captain was in a good mood.

Finally, the crew left their post to talk to a lady who wanted on their ship. The dump child ran into the ship and jumped into an open crate. He closed the lid on the crate and curled into the fetal position. He wasn't sure what he would do once he was flying but it was bound to be better than here. The passengers boarding talked about boring stuff. Everything seemed like meaningless chatter. Then this, "Wash, we're all on board. Set course for Andri. We got ourselves a trade to go on there." An intercom roared to life, "We are shiny Captain. Leaving atmo in 2 minutes. Aim to be on Andri in 3 days."

"Jayne, help me put the goods away before any of the passengers trip on it."

"Whatever you say, Captain." The crates around the boy's crate were jostling his crate and the sound of boots was getting closer. The child rolled against one of the walls of the crate. A gruff voice barked, "I didn't put no goods in this crate." The lid of the crate flew open and the child was staring down the barrel of two guns.

"Get up nice and slow there, _yo chr_. Put your hands over your head." The man wearing suspenders and a brown coat was the one doing the talking. Even though he was the smaller one, he was the scarier.

"Don't shoot, please! Don't hurt me!" The boy rose to standing height, barely reaching over the top of the crate. His hands reached for the sky

"Step out of that crate now. Don't make my life any more interesting than it already is." The guns didn't let up any. The boy's hands started shaking. When the scary man saw his face, he lowered his gun. His eye was swollen shut, his lip was split, there was dried blood on his face. He only had a pair of raggedy pants on. He smelled like _luh suh_.

"Please don't shoot me! Don't make me go back please, please!" The rest of the crew came down the metal stairs into the cargo bay and saw the child cowering in front of Mal and Jayne. The boy stumbled to the ground out of the cargo container. The ship's mechanic pushed through the men and ran up to the boy.

"What's your name, _di-di_?" The boy skittered away from her when she tried to embrace him. He landed on his bum against one of the crates.

"Reed." He rubbed his eyes looking like he was going to cry. "I'm sorry, don't take me back. I can't go back." Reed picked himself up and faced the captain.

Mal couldn't stand looking at the boy's face. The critter was on the verge of tears and Mal wouldn't stand for it. "Stop those tears. I ain't going to take you back." Captain Reynolds made as to possibly clap him on the back and the boy drew back. Someone had hurt him. Mal sighed and then said, "I spit on child beaters. I ain't going to hurt you, but it's obvious someone did. Doc, get this boy to the infirmary. The rest of you go do your jobs and I'll be dealing with those passengers."

He bent down. "I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds." The captain reached out and picked up the boy. "I'm just moving ya." The boy was hoisted over Mal's shoulder and put in the infirmary. The boy barely protested. The captain could feel the boy's ribs rubbing against his shoulder. Who in the 'verse would beat on a boy this small?

Once he made sure that Reed was taken care of in the infirmary he went to go over ground rules with the passengers. None of them didn't seem half as interesting as the boy from the cargo hold. That was a good thing.

The captain went up to the cockpit. Wash was navigating a course to Adri. "What's going on Captain? I heard a commotion going on." He swung around in his chair.

Mal took on a soft voice. "We've got ourselves another passenger, Wash. He's just a littl'un. Stowed himself away in a cargo container. He's in a bad way." He cleared his throat. "See to it that we get to Andri on time. I'd prefer if we didn't have our passengers and this cargo for longer than required." The passengers were just about ordinary. No surprises like the last time they took on passengers. River entertained them by dancing with a couple of them and it was actually like real shindig. It turned out to be a proper night. There hadn't been word from any of the crew yet about the kid so that must have been good news.

Mal went down to the infirmary to check on the critter. Simon had him bandaged up good and he was laughing at something Inara had said. "Doc, a word please." They walked out into the hall, "How is he?"

Simon frowned and then sighed. "He has a lot of bruises, cuts and a possible concussion. It's apparent someone beat him recently, but he won't tell me who. But he's not been well for a while. He's malnourished, and he's had some stunted growth. I can give him some growth hormone, but we'll just have to wait for him to get better at this point. Then maybe if he trusts us he'll start talking." That was when Mal frowned as well. He didn't like people who beat the innocent.

"Did he say where he came from? How old he is?"

"Nothing. Completely quiet. I'd say he's about 7 years old, but he's small. Again malnutrition."

"Well then let's get some food in that belly." He said it loud enough for Reed to hear. Reed jumped off the exam table and ran towards Mal.

"Where can I get some of that food?" They all laughed as Mal hoisted the kid on his shoulders and carried him to the dining room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reed was settling in real nice to Serenity. Within the week there was nothing that he didn't love about her. He helped out with just about everything on the ship from piloting to fixing the engine. The crew enjoyed having the boy's energy on the ship. He was even a little useful, doing chores and the little things.

Mal was becoming fond of the boy as well. He reminded him a bit of himself when he lived on Shadow. Of course, the boy wasn't a stubborn brat like he was, but that was the better part. Inara and Kaylee had seen to it that he didn't smell like a dump anymore and that he had some better clothes. Inara fashioned him a shirt out of an old sleeping gown. The boy was real grateful as well. He didn't fuss about much and stayed quiet like most of the time.

There were still some things that would set him off. A mention of a playing pool would set him off to ranting "please don't hurt me". When Kaylee asked him to open cans he went around pouring the cans out onto the floor. He got a couple of switches to the backside for that one. When they thought they were being followed by Reavers he climbed into the ceiling and wouldn't come out for hours. He cried out in his sleep. He wouldn't tell anyone where he came from or how old he was. Definitely something weird about that boy.

They were playing hoop ball after a day of retrieving goods for a customer. It wasn't likely that they'd get to finish the job today, so it was time to relax. Shepard Book had Reed on his shoulders and Jayne had Kaylee on his. Mal would pass the ball to Shepard and Shepard would give it to Reed and he'd throw it through the hoop.

The siren alarm for incoming ship rang overhead. "Transport Firefly class, this is the Alliance; we are requesting that you clear us for side by docking. We have reason to believe that there is stolen cargo on board. You also seem to be operating without proper identifications. Slow down and prepare for boarding." Wash followed the Alliance orders while Mal gave his orders.

"Kaylee, get Simon and River into space suits. You two know the drill. I believe we are in for a bit of scrutinizing. But we ain't got nothin hiding here. I intend that we do this quick and simple a' fore the government goes on their merry way." He turned to the boy that the Shepard was lifting off his shoulders. "Now you don't go actin up Reed, or there will be an amount of punishment to pay. That goes for the rest of you." He looked at Jayne before running up to the bridge.

Reed looked to the Zoë, "What about me? I got no proper papers. They'll put me in the system. I don't want to live in no Alliance shelter." He was getting tetchy.

"I'm sure the captain is coming up with something. Else wise he would have had you out there with the Doc and River." They went quiet after that until Jayne broke the silence with a remark about running around naked.

The captain came down to the cargo hold a couple of minutes later with a piece of plastic in hand. He slipped it to Reed before opening the door to greet the government squad. Reed looked at the plastic card.

 **Reed Reynolds**

 **Birth: 3-23-2509**

 **Birth Planet: Persephone**

 **ID: 003-9475917588**

Reynolds. What'd that mean? Reed was overjoyed at the fact that Mal considered him that highly. He slipped the plastic into his pocket and watched the Alliance officers stride in and take a look about the place.

"Is this your ship, Captain Malcolm Reynolds?"

"I do believe so." He handed him the certificate of ownership and the license.

"Are these real?" Reed almost laughed. Mal was too respectable to not have the real papers. "Of course they are sure. I wouldn't be showing them to you if they weren't."

The officer looked around at the crew as if he was looking for some hidden clue on their faces. He looked down on the pad he was carrying. "Captain it appears here that last time you were intercepted by a government cruiser you didn't have any children with you. Child, step forward. Captain who is this child?" Reed went over to the officer.

"Why sir, this is my son. Well, you can see he takes after his mother's looks, God bless her soul in heaven. He has just joined us seeing as my wife died. He lived planet side on Persephone with her until a week ago." The officer gave Reed a discerning look before turning to the captain again.

"I see the family resemblance. Hopefully, he doesn't take after you in the ways of scavenging. I don't wish to see a family trade at work here. Now I believe we have a search to be going on here. You better hope we don't find anything or your ship will be revoked."

"Sir, you wouldn't find anything of an illegal activity here. Just cruising along."

"Then if you'll follow my officers while we conduct an uninterrupted search of your ship. I'm sure you won't mind. And I'm sure you won't mind if we keep you in handcuffs for our assurance." Mal looked like he was going to punch him, but didn't do anything when the officer slapped cuffs on his wrists. Although, Jayne did punch the officer when he put his cuffs on. Not even the Shepard or Inara was left cuff-less. It didn't seem right.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The search seemed to last forever. They all shared a small cell in the Alliance cruiser and it was cramped. Reed was left with one corner sitting on Kaylee's lap with Mal in front of them, Jayne to the side, Shepard with his own corner, Wash and Zoë were huddled in one corner and Inara was pushed against them. Not a very comfortable situation at all.

Reed honestly didn't like the fact that the purple bellies could find Simon and River at any time. They were his family and they shouldn't be out there hiding in such an obvious place. He told Mal that before the Alliance officers and he dismissed him like he was a child. Well, he was a kid so it kind of made sense, but still.

Jayne banged at the door. "LET US OUT OF HERE! I HAVE TO USE THE TOILET! IF YOU DON'T LET ME OUT I WILL SEE YOU TO YOUR GRAVE!" The door flew open and the officer who had been searching the ship was standing in the way. Jayne pushed the man out of the way and flew down the corridor. A dozen soldiers streamed pass and tackled him. "Come on, just let up on me. I've just got to use the toilet." Reed laughed as the men handcuffed Jayne and put him back in the cell.

"Well Captain, it looks like everything checked out alright. Everything looks nice and tidy. Now, this is your last chance to tell me if you've got something to hide. Because if I find you hid something from me I will personally sign your bounty."

Mal looked him in the eye, "Of course not, sir. Thank-you so much for your hospitality." The officer led them down the hall and back to the ship. Reed started mocking the officer behind his back. He got a quick cuff to the head from Mal. As the cargo hull door closed Reed started laughing. Shepard looked at him, "You know son, there is a time and place for that."

"He's right. Don't you be showing disrespect anybody. That's just not good manners. Even if they are Alliance purple freaks." Mal gave Reed another quick smack before going up to the bridge with Zoe, Wash, and Jayne. "Book make sure Simon and River get in here safely?" Shepard nodded before going to the airlock to get them.

Simon and River came back in and River was rambling about how she wanted to go back out again. Wash told them that next time Reed would go out with her. Shepard went into the kitchen and cooked up dinner before going to play cards with Jayne and Simon. Reed, Kaylee, and River were playing a game of hoop ball and Inara was watching them. Zoe and Wash were in their room and the captain was piloting. It was one of the few times Reed felt truly safe.

SSS

Mal walked around the ship listening to her sounds. It was always comforting at night to walk around when there was no one else to interrupt his business. He thought back to when he first bought the ship when the seller had assured him that she wouldn't even last a month out here. Well, that was years ago, and she was still running better than any other ship he had come across. Serenity's sounds echoed all around him when he noticed a different sound, a pair of footsteps. They were coming in his direction. He felt like taking his gun out, but he knew there wasn't any threat on his ship.

He made his footsteps quiet as the other footsteps came closer. Captain Reynolds stopped and waited until the footsteps turned the corner towards him. A short figure made its way out of the dark. Mal went towards it figuring it would only be one of his crew. The figure was gasping short breaths and he could tell it was Reed. The little one had tears streaming down his face. Mal had to admit he was a sucker for a crying kid.

He went up to Reed. "What you doing up, little one? This ain't really the time to be wandering around. Don't tell me that no Boogey man came to get you." The boy buried his face in Mal's coat. He didn't seem all that awake. The tears soaked the coat in salty water. "There there, I don't see no reason to go fretting about anything."

"He had a pan… I couldn't run. There was dark… so much dark. I ran and ran. I can't get away. So, I hid. I hid for a long time so he couldn't find me… and…"

"Shhh. It's alright, son." Mal picked the boy up and set him on his hip. If he ever got a hold of the person who hurt Reed, he would wish he was never born. He was too small for his age. He seemed so much younger than 7. Under his breath, Mal muttered to himself, " _Lurn shwei jah jwohn."_

"Reed, no one's going to go hurt you here. I swear on my grave to you that when you're with me there will never be a person to hurt you. When I gave you that ID I meant it. You can be Reed Reynolds. Heck, I bet my ma would be proud I even got myself a kid… and…" He looked down at the kid clutching to his jacket. He was stone asleep.

Mal walked down the hallway with the kid hanging off his side. He went to his room and laid him down on the bed. Mal looked around and saw that the room looked nothing like a kid's room should. There was nothing there to tell Mal that someone was living in the room. He would have to change that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Gorramit, Reed! Where'd you put Vera, River? That ain't no plaything, _Ta Ma Duh!_ bring her back!" Jayne was chasing Reed and River down the halls of Serenity. River was having no trouble keeping out of Jayne's grasp, but Reed was having a bit of problem keeping up. She kept telling him, " _Jah Yoh,_ Reed!"

River yelled behind them, "Vera told us to take her. She said she was unhappy." Reed smirked, he could tell that River was enjoying this.

"Yeah, well you tell Vera that now I'm not happy and that doesn't make for a good mix." Jayne put on a burst of speed chasing after the two. River sped up, but Reed wasn't so lucky. Jayne grabbed him by the scruff of his collar. "Oh, River. I've got your partner now. You're humped little man."

Jayne hung Reed one a piece of metal protruding from the ceiling. There was no way he was going to get down from that without strangling himself. He kept thinking, " _Tzao Gao, Tzao Gao."_ River changed direction and ducked under Jayne coming to release Reed. She unhooked his shirt and pulled him to his feet as they ran across cargo bay. They weren't really paying attention to what was in front of them, so it was a bit surprising when they ran straight smack into Zoe.

" _Jao Gao!_ What are you doing running around here with tourists on board? The captain will have your behinds." Jayne came into sight and Reed ran behind Zoe. River, on the other hand, bravely stood in front of Jayne and just said sweetly, "I can kill you with my mind." That always seemed to shut Jayne up.

Zoe looked at the three of them and then said, "What did you do, River? Reed?"

"I'll tell you what they did. They's gone and stole my Vera. My Vera." Jayne growled. Zoe looked like she was about to burst out laughing, but she was trying to keep it in for the sake of the kids.

"They're kids Jayne. Deal with it. I bet it works if you ask politely to get it back. I don't want to hear any more about this." She briefly glanced at all of them. "Hear me? The captain may be someone to fear, but I can be ten times as bad. Don't let me catch you." She left them to go up to the bridge. Jayne smiled maliciously. The pair ran.

They landed on Ariel a couple of hours later. Reed and River were properly tired out and Jayne was fairly grumpy. They let the tourists off first, and then they all got ready to leave. They were all going off ship. Wash, Zoe, and Mal were going to go deal with their client. The rest of the crew was allowed to do as they pleased. Shepard was going to go reconnect with some of his preacher buddies at a local temple, Jayne was going to find a respectable looking bar and Inara was going to visit some clients. That left Simon and Kaylee to look after River and Reed. River had been a handful before but put her and Reed together they were like the devil.

"To make it clear. I don't want any trouble out of any of you. Reed, you stay with Simon and Kaylee and don't get lost. Simon, make sure that Kaylee here doesn't buy anything ridiculous. Kaylee make sure none of them don't go breaking their necks. I want you back here in three hours." This was responded with several, " _Fang Xin,_ Captain." Mal was very strict when it came to being back on land. It was like if he could help it they would all stay on the ship forever only leaving for work. But it couldn't be helped that they were human and wanted to see the sights.

Wash, Zoe, and Mal went their way and everyone went theirs. Kaylee and Simon walked behind River and Reed as they toured the ports of Ariel. River pointed out the shops to Reed making a point of teaching him how to properly market a business. Simon and Kaylee were being very love-like and talking about how a ship's engine was similar to a human body. It couldn't have been a better day.

"I think that 100 platinum would be a good deal." Mal placed the piece of merchandise they were bartering over on the table. It was an antique gun from Earth-that-was. Jayne had tried to fire it when they "retrieved" it from Andri, but it didn't work.

"I think you're trying to rip me off. Call it 80 platinum."

"90 platinum."

"85."

"I'm thinking that's a bit of a steep loss for me and my crew. Make it 90 platinum and I won't have Zoe here shoot off your brain pan." The man was one of clear pristine and of fancible origins and wasn't used to dealing. He looked a bit nervous when Zoe started brandishing her gun in front of him.

"Fine, I'll do 90, but you can bet you won't see me as a customer again." Wash sighed as Mal smiled, made a snide remark and walked out the door with the 90 platinum. They walked out into the street far enough so they couldn't be heard.

"What did we do? I thought we were being very friendly," Wash remarked.

"He was a proper gentleman, Wash. Us being in the same room as him made him a mite uncomfortable. We don't need him as a regular customer anyway. We get all our fanciness from our dealings with Badger." Zoe laughed and the men chuckled. "Now I think I'm fancying a nice bit of time away from the smaller terrors of the ship."

"I thought you liked Reed, sir."

"Course I do. He's just a little monster sometimes and I could do with a drink. Couldn't you, Zoe?"

Wash answered for her. "Of course, we want a drink." He whispered to Zoe, "It's been like forever since we were landside. Let's make it as long as possible." They shared a kiss before following Mal into the nearest bar.

By the time everyone got back to the ship everyone but River and Reed were drunk. River tried drinking, but Simon absolutely wouldn't allow it. Reed passed out on Simon's shoulders on the way back to Serenity. Shepard and Inara laughed at the whole crew as they stumbled back into their bunks. "Looks like you all had a very busy day." The only one who actually managed to get to their bunk was River.


End file.
